Police identify Texas A&M gunman killed in shootout

Police identified Thomas Caffall, 35, of College Station as the gunman. (Source: College Station Police Department)

Aerials show police clustered on a street corner while a man appears to be examining a gun with a police officer on the right hand side of the image after a gunman opened fire near Texas A&M University. (Source: KLTV)

Brazos County Constable Brian Bachman was killed in the shooting near the Texas A&M University campus. (Source: Photo via Facebook)

Police and emergency vehicles were on the scene after the shooting. (Source: CNN)

Texas A&M issued a 'Code Maroon' about a shooting near campus. (Source: http://emergency.tamu.edu)

COLLEGE STATION, TX (RNN) – Police have identified the gunman who they say opened fire near Texas A&M University Monday, killing two before being shot by police.

Thomas Alton Caffall III, 35, died in an exchange of bullets with officers. College Station police say he exchanged gunfire with them over a period of 30 minutes before an officer fatally shot him.

They have not released a possible motive for the shooting, although they confirmed Caffall opened fire while a constable was serving him an eviction notice.

Caffall's mother told the Huffington Post that her son was having mental health issues in the past few years.

"The minute I saw the TV I knew it was him," Linda Weaver said. "I've been that worried about him."

Constable Brian Bachmann, 41, was pronounced dead at an area hospital shortly after he was shot. Bachmann was a 19-year veteran of the Brazos County Sheriff's Department.

A second victim, 43-year-old Chris Northcliff of College Station, was also killed.

"Brazos County Constable Brian Bachmann was not only a professional, but was held in the highest regard in our community," said College Station Mayor Nancy Berry in a statement released Monday night.

"There are many victims, including families of Mr. Caffall and Mr. Northcliff, who will continue to suffer physical and emotional pain for a very long time, and we shouldn't forget them."

Witnesses told affiliate KBTX the shooter hit Bachmann five times before going through his pockets and grabbing police gear after Bachmann tried to serve the eviction notice.

When police arrived on the scene, Bachmann was already down in the suspect's yard.

"We're trying to understand why this tragedy has occurred," said Scott McCollum, assistant chief of the College Station Police Department.

Courtney Clark, Caffall's sister, told the Associated Press Monday night the family was "shocked" by the violence.

"Our hearts and prayers go
out to the families and this is just a senseless tragedy," Clark said. "We are just distraught by the
havoc that he has caused."

Officers attempted to perform CPR on Bachmann before he was transported to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

Another officer, Justin Oehlke, was shot in the leg and is in stable condition. Two more officers were injured by gun shrapnel and were treated and released.

A civilian, only identified as a 55-year-old woman, was in surgery because of her wounds.

The scene was active for approximately half an hour.

Police also said that the area, which is just blocks from campus and near Kyle Field, the football stadium, has been secured.

A witness, Will Hatheway, told KBTX that he heard 30 shots fired. He also said that police officers were taking cover behind their vehicles and ordering residents back into their homes.

Various local media outlets reported that the shooter was firing an automatic weapon from a house.

Around 1:39 p.m. ET, the college issued a "Code Maroon" alert telling students, faculty and staff to stay away from a neighborhood just blocks from the campus because of an active shooter situation.

At 1:44 p.m., the website stated that police had the shooter in custody, but advised everyone to continue to avoid the area.

This is the fourth mass shooting incident in the country in four weeks.

On July 17, Nathan Van Wilkins allegedly opened fire on the Copper Top Bar in Tuscaloosa, AL, injuring 17. Fortunately, no one was killed.